New Psystar claim omits antitrust, still attacks copyright

Following a judge's dismissal of Psystar's antitrust claims against Apple, …

The legal machinations between Apple and Open Computer maker Psystar have been going on for several months now. Apple got in a good shot with its response to antitrust allegations, and now Psystar is readying the next salvo. According to the most recent filing (the actual counterclaim requires PACER access) as seen by Ars Technica, Psystar is seeking to amend its counterclaim against Apple in order to include new arguments about why Psystar should be allowed to sell its products.

Psystar's revision of its claim isn't particularly surprising given Judge William Alsup's recent ruling against most of Psystar's antitrust claims. Psystar is dropping its antitrust claims altogether and is once again going after Apple on copyright grounds. Specifically, Psystar is alleging that Apple is guilty of "copyright misuse" related to the OS X EULA and the DMCA, meaning that the company is trying to improperly increase the scope of its copyright. A finding of copyright misuse would prevent Apple from enforcing its copyright, which is exactly what Psystar wants.

The section of the OS X EULA saying that the operating system can only be used with Apple hardware is cited as one way Apple expands its copyright. Psystar is also accusing Apple of abusing the DMCA in order to misuse copyright, an argument that revolves around whether the current protection for OS X is a "technological copyright protection measure" or not. The new claim does offer a bit of a different perspective on things, but the judge hasn't exactly been receptive to Psystar's arguments thus far. It's unclear that this new argument will play any better in court, especially since it relies on case law. We'll have to wait until January to see what the judge thinks, but we'll keep you updated on any developments between now and then.